AWADmail Issue 623

A Weekly Compendium of Feedback on the Words in A.Word.A.Day and Tidbits about Words and Language

Sponsor's message:
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A father had 19 horses. His will left 1/2 to the eldest son, 1/4 to the
second son, and 1/5 to the youngest son. They were in a quandary as to how
to divide the horses. A knight rode up, and added his horse to the herd,
adding up to 20 horses. 10 went to the the first son, 5 went to the second
son, and 4 went to the third son. The knight then rode off on the remaining
horse whose name was Catalyst.

William Melgaard, Hampton, Virginia

From: Alan Etherington (alan-e ntlworld.com)
Subject: Catalyst

A more accurate definition of "catalyst" is a substance that changes the
rate of a chemical reaction, itself being chemically unchanged at the end of
the reaction. The main points here are that there are negative catalysts
as well as positive, for example a small quantity of ethanol added to
chloroform will slow the decomposition of the chloroform to the unwanted
phosgene if used in anaesthesia and also that the catalyst is chemically
unchanged at the end, this doesn't mean that it is physically unchanged.

When my junior high school teacher explained this word as "something
that causes a reaction without taking part in the reaction", a number of
students must have looked mystified, because he added, "Think of a mouse
in the girls' gym."

A.Word.A.Day is a precious source of false friends!
In Italian, "fulminare" has retained the Latin meaning as a transitive verb
(to strike with lightning); if you use it while referring to a person, it
may also mean that you gave them a very piercing look ("l'ho fulminato con
lo sguardo"). You can, however, also use it as an adjective to mean that a
light bulb is gone ("una lampadina fulminata").

Remembering the scene
(video, 4 min.) in Mister Roberts when Ensign Pulver (Jack Lemmon) blows up the USS
Reluctant's laundry with fulminate of mercury, always brings a smile to
my face. Great movie.

Joe Baldwin, New York, New York

From: Gary Muldoon (gmuldoon muldoongetz.com)
Subject: fulminate

Chemical terms sometimes played a role in the plots of Breaking Bad, which
involved a rogue chemistry teacher, Walter White. One was fulminated mercury,
which was part of an (overly) explosive plot device
(video, 1.5 min.)
with a drug dealer.

The adjective form, fulminating, is, unfortunately, used often in medicine
to denote a rapidly progressing severe condition such as a hemorrhage or
an infection. For example a fulminating osteomyelitis.

Interesting that acidic is used to refer to a bitter remark. In JHS
science and HS chemistry, we learned that acids were sour, bases bitter
(at appropriately safe concentrations, of course).

Evan Hazard, Bemidji, Minnesota

From: Ben Sansum (ben.sansum gmail.com)
Subject: Acidic

Acidic is also now commonly used to describe music -- specifically music
that uses the squelchy Roland 303 sound. Originating in Chicago in the
late '80s the 'acid house' sound exploded into the rave culture that now,
in a debased commercialised form, rules the world!

Interesting that the German word meaning burn(ing) stone is Bernstein,
which is their word for amber.

Michael Keating, Villereau, France

From: Gerry Cotter (g.cotter lancaster.ac.uk)
Subject: Brimstone

Brimstone is also a species of butterfly,
Gonepteryx rhamni, found in Europe, north Africa, and across Asia as far as
Mongolia. Here in the UK it is one of the first species to emerge in spring.

Gerry Cotter, Lancaster, UK

From: Michele Gallant (mgallan2 dal.ca)
Subject: Words from chemistry

The introduction to this week's theme includes:
"If only they took that space on the shampoo bottle to tell people what
pH really means, it could make for a little relaxing bathroom reading."
It would make a great soaporific.

Michele Gallant, Halifax, Canada

From: Irving N. Webster-Berlin (awadreviewsongs gmail.com)
Subject: Song based on this week's words

Here are this week's AWAD Review Songs (words and recordings) for your
listening and viewing pleasure.